Preston Stormer is a veteran Hero and leader of the Alpha Team. Widely respected as the figurehead of the Hero Factory, his career is arguably the most accomplished in the organization's history, with his notable success capturing Von Nebula.

Contents

Biography

Early Career

One of the earliest known Heroes to be manufactured by the Hero Factory, Stormer came into being in the Assembly Tower in Makuhero City, based off of schematics designed by Akiyama Makuro. Trained alongside Von Ness, the two young Heroes were assigned to Alpha Team, operating under a hero named Thresher.

Stormer, Thresher, and Von Ness engaging the Mechanoid.

During this time, Alpha Team was notably charged with dismantling the Legion of Darkness criminal syndicate, which had arisen in opposition to the Hero Factory after their string of early successes. With an XT4 unit successfully infiltrating the Assembly Tower, the Hero Factory was temporarily shut down following a media frenzy. Scheduled to be retasked as a sentry unit guarding for the conglomerate cooperate entity of Makuhero Industries, Stormer and his teammates defied orders and returned to the Assembly Tower, capturing a number of high-profile criminals in the process. This successful operation notably earned Stormer a commendation and restored the reputation of Hero Factory.

At this early stage in his career, Stormer was known to have studied under Aldous Witch, an instructor commissioned by the Hero factory to teach astrology and architectural geology. Catching his instructor undergoing an illegal experiment to infuse himself with raw Quaza, Stormer reported the incident to Thresher and detained the instructor, ultimately causing the professor to be dismissed from his position.

Responding to a distress call emanating from Stellac City, Stormer and Von Ness would later accompany Thresher to the distant planetary metropolis only to be ambushed by a heavily-weaponized mechanoid. Taking the drone's fire to defend the rookies, Thresher received a severe injury that debilitated his systems. Attempting to draw the mechanoid's fire to allow his teammate to escape with Thresher, Stormer was swiftly betrayed by Von Ness, who fled the scene in the Hero Factory Dropship without Thresher. With no choice but to let his teammate escape, Stormer successfully deactivated the drone and managed to return Thresher to the Assembly Tower before his injuries became lethal, saving Stellac City in the process.

Stormer as Alpha Leader.

With Thresher retiring soon after the ordeal, Stormer took on the role of Alpha Leader, with Jimi Stringer and Dunkan Bulk supplementing his Hero team. Training together in the years after Thresher's departure, all three members of Alpha Team were known to have earned veteran status, making them the most prominent Hero team in active duty.

During his period, Stormer was known to have developed an unsavory reputation as a trainer, necessitating that all rookies under his command must exceed standard performance expectations and riding new recruits especially hard during training. Following an incident in which Core Hunter stole the Hero Core of one such rookie Hero, Stormer became notoriously hard to please.

Von Nebula's Revenge

Several years into his career as Alpha Leader, Stormer and his cohorts were assigned three new rookie Heroes to their unit: Mark Surge, Natalie Breez, and William Furno. While Breez and Surge would come to prove themselves as worthwhile additions to the team, Stormer took a particular interest in Furno, the most reckless and impulsive of the three rookies.

Stormer accompanying Furno on a training exercise.

Acting as part of an armed escort for a shipment of C-4000 on Merak 9 several months later, Stormer and his team were ambushed by XPlode and Rotor, two notorious galactic bandits. Engaging XPlode directly, Stormer was able to fend off the criminal while Bulk and Stringer contained Rotor. Offering Furno the opportunity to apply the Hero Cuffs, Stormer was sorely disappointed when Rotor escaped before the young hero could apprehend him.

Accompanying Furno, Surge and Breez on a training exercise, Stormer's unit was dispatched to the neighboring system of Lemus 2 several hours later, responding to another raid on an explosive munitions factory by Rotor and XPlode. Drawing the fire away from the rookies, Stormer took a direct hit and was incapacitated, leaving Furno to lead a successful recovery operation and ultimately recapture Rotor.

The following day, Alpha Team was assaulted by Corroder whilst overseeing the construction of Penitentiary 1331. Confined to the Assembly Tower and unauthorized for deployment without a full Hero Core recharge, Stormer directed the mission from the Hero Factory Command Center, remarking Furno's tactical competence whilst directing Bulk, Stringer and Surge.
An unclear number of solar cycles later, Stormer accompanied Furno, Breez, and Surge on a training exercise under his instruction. Allowing Furno to pilot his Dropship, Stormer expressed his displeasure over a recent advertising campaign that had used his likeness to endorse an energy drink. Receiving a distress beacon originating from the Mekronite Planetary Belt, Stormer resumed control and landed the Dropship outside the Mekron City police station, noting that the planetoid had gone into lockdown mode following a red alert. Venturing inside, Stormer scouted ahead and encountered Chief Drax of the Mekron City police department. With the chief growing uncharacteristically confrontational and increasingly unwilling to cooperate, Stormer detained him only for Meltdown and a legion of attack drones to ambush the precinct. Striking Stormer with a burst of degraded nuclear waste, Meltdown breached the Hero's armor plating and infected the Alpha Leader with a potent swarm of microscopic nanobots. Returning to the Assembly Tower for a diagnostic report, the nanobots swiftly began to affect the chemistry of Stormer's central processor, heightening his aggression. Resorting to a more primal nature, Stormer engaged Bulk, Stringer, and Furno, escaping out into Makuhero City.

Stormer and Professor Nathaniel Zib in Hero Factory Command

With Bulk and Stringer leading Alpha Team on a mission to retrieve the chemical antidote from Lunar Tratix, Furno trailed Stormer through Makuhero City, acting off his earlier hunch that the Alpha Leader might tear down the oversized billboard with his likeness. Engaging Stormer whilst wearing a jet booster, Furno tussled with his mentor onto to be swiftly overpowered. Pleading desperately, the rookie evoked powerful memories of Von Ness, which in turn gave Stormer the will to fight off the nanobots and be carried back to the Assembly Tower by Furno. With the rest of Alpha Team successfully retrieving the chemical antidote, Hero Factory scientists were able to synthesize a cure that purged the nanobots for Stormer's system and remedied the Hero of Meltdown's infection.
Several days later, Stormer responded to a distress call in New Stellac City alongside Bulk and Stringer. Marveling at a statue erected to commemorate Stormer's defeat of the Drone many years ago, the three Heroes swiftly discerned that they had walked into an ambush, with Thunder and Corrodor emerging from two transporter pods. After a brief firefight, Stormer and his cohorts were seemingly overpowered and lost contact with Hero Factory Mission Control.

Stormer accompanying Furno, Breez, and Surge on a training operation.

With Furno, Breez, and Surge arriving on the scene as reinforcements only for XPlode and Meltdown to appear, Stormer led his teammates from their shelter to cover the rookies. With Alpha Team reassembled, the Heroes were confronted by a swirling, nebulous vortex in the sky above New Stellac City. With their weapons magnetically attracted to the gravitational anomaly, Stormer reluctantly relinquished his Multifunctional Ice Weapon before diving into the dimensional breach to confront Von Ness. With Furno defying orders and following him, Stormer was confronted by his former teammate, who had undergone significant upgrades since their last encounter and now operated under the title of Von Nebula. Having smuggled in a set of boot-jet thrusters, Furno and Stormer tricked Von Nebula into revealing himself within the swirling gravitational mass, only for Furno to throw the gadgets into the center of the black hole while Stormer snatched up Von Nebula's Black Hole Orb Staff and trapped his former teammate within it. Escaping the collapsing nebula, Stormer and Furno returned to New Stellac City to find that their teammates had successfully apprehended the rest of Von Nebula's cohorts without their weapons.

Upon their return to Makuhero City, Stormer and his fellow Elite heroes presented Furno, Breez, and Surge to Daniella Capricorn, announcing them as the latest additions to Alpha Team. Escorting the Black Hole Orb Staff to Villain Storage, Stormer approached Furno and congratulated him on his leadership capabilities, suggesting that one day the young Hero might replace him as Alpha Leader.

Stormer at Tanker Station 22

Ordeal of Fire

Several weeks later, Stormer would lead Furno, Surge and Breez on an emergency response to an assault on Tanker Station 22. Whilst escorting civilian workers to their Hero Factory Dropship, the Heroes received heavy fire from Drilldozer, Nitroblast and Jetbug. While Furno scouted ahead to provide reconnaissance, Stormer was overpowered by Drilldozer and forced to order a tactical retreat, realizing too late that their weaponry was ineffective against the heat-resistant upgrades their adversaries were equipped with. Once Fire Lord had siphoned electrical energy from the tanker station, the criminals attempted to surround the Heroes and take them captive. However, slipping away and damaging several of the fuel cells, Surge created an opening for his fellow Heroes to exploit, distracting the Fire Villains long enough for the rest of Alpha Team to stage a tactical retreat with the civilians, having been dealt a crushing defeat and lost control of the Tanker Station. With Furno pleading to return and rescue Surge, Stormer was forced to make a hard call and leave his teammate behind.

Returning to Makuhero City shortly after Akiyama Makuro announcing a prospective Upgrade, Stormer approached Hero Factory's founder and requested that Breez, Furno, and himself immediately be suited with the Upgrade. Met initially with resistance, Stormer ultimately managed to convince Mr. Makuero to authorize their upgrade, making the members of Alpha Team the first Heroes to be augmented into the new system.

Stormer in the Assembly Tower, being fitted with the Upgrade.

After a brief training interlude with their new forms, Stormer led Breez and Furno back to Tanker Station 22 on a tactical assault, though Furno would swiftly blow their cover upon arrival. Taking the mistake in their stride, Alpha Team eagerly launched a counter-attack under the cover of darkness. Having been refitted with heat-resistant armor, the Heroes managed to severely diminishing the impact of the Fire Villains' Lava Sphere Shooters, successfully holding their own against the criminals.

Engaging Fire Lord directly, Stormer was privy to the a brief monologue in which his adversary revealed the origin of the Fire Villains as mining bots from Tallos V, upgraded by Hero Factory scientists. Having overseen the operation in his earlier career, Stormer came to realize that Fire Lord and his henchbots had been molded into criminals because of an oversight on his part. Caught off-guard, Stormer was held over the edge of the Tanker Station by his adversary only for the explosive arrival of a Hero Pod to win him his freedom. With rookies Nathan Evo and Julius Nex appearing on the scene, Stormer reconvened with his teammates, apprehend Drilldozer, Jetbug, and Nitroblast together. With Fire Lord siphoning more electrical energy from a nearby power conduit, Stormer and his teammates engaged the leader of the Fire Villains on one, unified front only for Surge to intervene and damage Fire Lord. Incapacitating the villain shortly after, the Heroes were re-united with Surge.

With all four members of Fire Lord's gang neutralized, Stormer personally oversaw their transportation to Makuhero City for advanced containment and rehabilitation. Having successfully recovered their teammate, Stormer later stood with Alpha Team as one of the first Heroes to have been upgraded, this marking the dawn of a new age in the proud legacy of Hero Factory.

Over the course of the following months, Stormer would return to active patrol duty and interact sparingly with his teammates. During this time, Stormer would witness the incorporation of Evo and Nex into Alpha Team, as well as the creation of a new rookie named Rocka.

Savage Planet

Several months later, the Hero Factory received an urgent distress signal from a rookie named Rocka, who had countermanded instructions and journeyed to the planet Quatros. Refitted with rhinoceros-themed armor, Stormer led a team consisting of Stringer, Bulk, Nex, and Furno to recover their teammate, quelling several instances of in-fighting and excessive showmanship amongst the Heroes. Landing the Dropship on the quarantined jungle planet, Stormer reiterated the mission parameters and recounted the tale of Professor Aldeous Witch's exile, a former Hero Factory scientist who had sent out the initial distress beacon.

Stormer and Alpha Team arriving on Quatros

Leading Alpha Team out onto the planet's surface, the Heroes tracked their fallen teammate's unique Quaza signature, eventually finding him unconscious with depleted energy reserves. While escorting the weakened rookie back to the Dropship, Furno became separated from the group and was approached by Aldeous Witch, who had now adopted the title of Witch Doctor. Surviving the encounter, Furno returned to report that the Witch Doctor was controlling Quatros' wildlife for his own sinister purposes, correlating with Rocka's testimony. With Rocka refitted with his own set of jungle armor, the Heroes set off once more in search of Witch Doctor, eventually reaching an abandoned teleportation device. However, with Rocka and Furno constantly bickering derailing his leadership efforts, Stormer furiously proposed that they each head up a smaller team of three to once and for all decide who was the better tactician. Joining Bulk on Rocka's team, Stormer journeyed on through the reactivated teleportation unit only to be reconstituted on the other side with his teammates at a fraction of their original height.

Evading capture in their diminished forms, the team performed reconnaissance by gathering information on the Witch Doctor's mining operation. Correctly determining that the villain intended to extract the raw Quaza mineral from beneath the sacred temple grounds, Rocka and Bulk were cornered by the Witch Doctor's Fangz hounds, leaving Stormer to relay the developing situation back to the Hero Factory command center, prompting Furno to home in on their location.

Reunited with the rest of the team while Furno drew Witch Doctor's attention, Nex was able to restore power to the teleportation system and reconstitute Stormer, Rocka, and Bulk back to their original size. Now at full strength, Stormer returned to the helm and led the charge against the Witch Doctor, enjoying some success but ultimately finding himself grievously overpowered.

Stormer claiming Witch Doctor's Skull Staff.

With Rocka refitting himself in ancient armor found beneath the temple grounds, the Heroes were finally able to outmaneuver Witch Doctor. Taking advantage of Rocka's offensive strategy, Stormer was able to sneak up behind the Witch Doctor and destroy his Skull Staff, ceasing his influence over the planet's wildlife. However, with the drilling probe still in operation, Witch Doctor was able to extract the last deposit of Quaza mineral from Quatros' surface, thus debilitating the delicate ecosystem of the planet. Working to bring down the probe, Bulk and Furno were able to damage the thrusters and return the Quaza to the temple grounds from which they had been extracted, thus restoring Quatros to its original state of floral abundance.

With the rescue mission complete and the exiled professor apprehended, Stormer helped detain Witch Doctor and transported him back to the Hero Craft, ready for transport to the Villain Storage Facility beneath the Assembly Tower.

BREAKOUT

Some time after the Quatros mission and notably coinciding with Black Phantom's assault on the Assembly Tower, a villain named Voltix was known to have smuggled the essence of Von Nebula into Villain Storage. Evading the security measures, Von Nebula's gaseous form was able to trigger the Black Hole Orb Staff and conjure a localized black hole portal in the central chamber. With the cells deactivated in the ensuring power surge, Stormer and his teammates attempted to subdue the criminals before they reached the dimensional gateway and escaped. Fending off Jawblade with some success, Stormer was forced to disengage and discipline Evo for his foolhardy conduct. Unable to contain a single villain, the Heroes watched the dimensional gate collapse then reported the solemn news back to the Command Center.

With Hero Factory resources spread thin, Mission Control assigned each Hero an individual mission to capture and subdue an escaped criminal. Assigned the task of subduing Speeda Demon, Stormer was refitted with a set of XL armor, several arm-mounted Attack Drones, Dual Power Blades, and a Plasma Shooter. Also equipped with the prototype Ultra Mach Speed Cycle, Stormer was dispatched to Kollix IV and issued an upgraded set of Hero Cuffs with which to compensate for Speeda Demon's Nitro Rocket Bike. Fearful that the criminal would launch in a scheme to damage the planet's communication array if left unchecked, Stormer swiftly gave chase and attempted to out-maneuver the criminal. However, Speeda Demon proved too agile and attempted to run Stormer off the road. Adopting a different set of tactics and adjusting to his disadvantage, Stormer successfully used his Attack Drones to destabilize Speeda Demon before using the Hero Cuffs to apprehend him entirely. Successfully completing his mission, Stormer returned to Makuhero City with Speeda Demon in tow.

Stormer riding the Ultra Mach Speed Cycle on Kollix IV

Finding that the Assembly Tower's Fail-Safe Protocol had been initiated, Stormer was reunited with Furno, Surge and Evo only to find that a holographic forcefield now surrounded the Assembly Tower. With Rocka operating on the inside and with a villain named Black Phantom now in control of the building, Stormer and his cohorts were forced to utilize more underhanded tactics. Convincing Daniella Capricorn to report that no Heroes had returned, Alpha Team accelerated Black Phantom's plans and gave Rocka the opportunity to deactivate the Fail-Safe forcefield. Making their way back inside the Command Center, Stormer and his cohorts confronted Rocka about his clandestine activities, only for the Hero to reveal that he had been operating under instruction of the Hero Recon Team and that he had been investigating Black Phantom for some time. Discovering that the villain had refitted the Assembly Tower with Anti-Quaza and that he planned to generate an army of Heroes to serve his purpose, Stormer led Alpha Team in the charge against Black Phantom's Arachnix Spiders while Rocka directly engaged him. Ultimately defeating the villain by connecting him directly to the Assembly Tower's Quaza supply, Stormer witnessed the defeat and capture of the Black Phantom, as well as the successful reactivation of the Mission Control center and the return of Stringer from his mission.

Stormer XL in the Assembly Tower.

However, once the Hero Factory systems had been restored, Alpha Team would later discover that Black Phantom had acquired the blueprints of the entire Assembly Tower and distributed them to an unknown recipient.

Following several failed attempts to recapture the escaped villain known as Core Hunter, Stormer would later coordinate the entirety of Alpha Team on a recovery operation to track down the mercenary. Partnered with Furno, Stormer soon discovered that Core Hunter was searching for the three components of the Doom Box, a doomsday device of galactic proportions. Reconvening with Alpha Team on the planet the Doom Box was forged on, Stormer and his teammates were overpowered by their adversary until Surge dealt a decisive blow that presumably disrupted Core Hunter's molecular constitution.

Brain Attack

Several months after the mass-breakout event, Alpha Team was recalled to the Assembly Tower and informed of an impending attack on Makuhero City. With the planet's local wildlife growing increasingly volatile and banding together around the Hero Factory headquarters, Stormer temporarily delegated leadership responsibilities to Furno and was refitted in the Assembly Tower. Adorned with a locking clamp around his Hero Core and a Visor, Stormer accompanied Alpha Team into the central quadrant of Makuhero City to fend off the army of mutated invaders, noting that their attackers were possessed by parasitic Brains.

Stormer mounting a defensive perimeter with Alpha Team.

Engaging a number of mutated Frost Beasts, Stormer and his teammates enjoyed considerable success in repelling the creatures, keeping the damage to a minimum and ensuring as few civilian casualties as possible. Once Bulk announced his discovery that the artificial Brains could be removed from their hosts by a blow to the cranium over the shared radio feed, the Heroes were able to more effectively combat the creatures.

Responding to a perimeter breach in the Assembly Tower, Stormer accompanied Alpha Team back to Mission Control, where he was faced with a platoon of corrupted Blank Heroes and his missing teammate, Mark Surge, who had been taken over by one of the Brains. Fending off the Blank Heroes, Stormer established an opening for Breez to free Surge and deactivate the Blank Heroes. With the origins of the Brains continuing to elude the Heroes despite their victory, Stormer would aid in the recovery effort and reclaim his title as Alpha Leader.

Abilities and Traits

Level-headed and experienced beyond any of his contemporaries, Stormer is known to possess considerable tactical prowess and resilience, qualifying him as one of the Hero Factory's most prominent operatives. Ruled by the emotional weight of Von Ness' betrayal, Stormer dislikes speaking of his past and has been known to be overly protective of younger Heroes under his care.

Over the course of his long and decorated Veteran career, Stormer has mastered a number of fighting styles, chief among which is swordplay. Proving himself a capable pilot and a competent marksman across a range of different environments, Stormer is a direct and highly effective combatant, possessing a natural affinity for leadership roles.

Arsenal

In his original form, Stormer was equipped with a customized Multifunctional Ice Weapon, a toold designed for melee combat as well as firing long-ranged Ice projectiles and grappling lines. Upon impact with a solid surface, a shot from this weapon would freeze a target in place, disrupting projectile weaponry and debilitating flying enemies.

Following the Upgrade, Stormer was temporarily equipped with a Multi-Tool Ice Shield, a weapon that was capable of both firing energy bursts and deploying a blade.

Some time after being refitted with the Upgrade, Stormer was temporarily equipped with jungle-compatible armor channeling the abilities of a rhinoceros. In this form, he notably wielded a modified version of his trademark Multifunctional Ice Weapon. Similar to previous variations of the weapon, this gauntlet was capable of both firing an energy bolt and dealing devastating close-ranged slashing attacks.

Refitted to combat the mass BREAKOUT event, Stormer was refitted with a larger XL frame, making him the most heavyset Hero for the purpose of capturing Speeda Demon. Wielding a Ice Blaster and Power Sword, Stormer was equipped for both long-ranged and melee combat. Furthermore, this form was adorned with several wrist-mounted Scout Drones and an Ultra Mach Speed Cycle.

During the events of the BRAIN ATTACK, Stormer was once again restored to a standard Hero frame, this time wielding both a Nano Alloy Sword and a Hero Shield, making a notable departure from his classic arsenal. Additionally, Stormer was refitted with a Locking Clamp around his Hero Core, a specialized Visor, and a back-mounted Ice Mission Launcher.